8 Handy Methods to Chop and Mince Garlic – Mishry
Nishtha Sethi
Team Mishry tested 8 tools and appliances in the review lab. The best, most efficient method to chop and mince garlic is..
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Wondering what are the different methods to chop and mince garlic? Which tool is the best to get a finely minced result? And which one is better for a coarse chop?
Are you confused about which is the ideal tool for your garlic chopping and mincing? Team Mishry tested eight different methods, traditional and new, to chop and/or mince garlic. Our list tells you the type of cut the tool gives us, and what it is best suited for.
Related reading – Benefits of garlic
Table of Contents
8 Easy Methods to Chop and Mince Garlic
What were we looking for?
There is abundance in the market when it comes to tools and gadgets specifically meant for chopping and mincing garlic. We were looking for different methods/tools meant for various types of cuts of garlic and which is the easiest, fastest and most effortless way to do so.
For manual tools, we checked for grip as well.
Ease of cleaning, maintenance, sturdiness and space required to store the tool were also considered.
How did we test these? There isn’t a winner or loser in this review. Yes, we have preferences based on how good the grip is or how well the tool performs overall, but every tool has its own job. Some are meant for chopping bulk quantities of garlic, some meant for small portions of mince, while some are best suited for coarse cuts.
We peeled, chopped and minced over 30 garlic cloves to understand the mechanism, functions and motion of the specific tool and what they are best suited for.
1. Best Overall – IKEA’s Traditional Garlic Press
This was the quickest way to mince garlic. From the smooth, non-slippery handles, comfortable grip to the sturdy structure – everything worked well for this press. The cavity to keep the garlic clove is deep and all the parts are in place and do not wobble. At a time, 2 to 3 garlic cloves can also be placed and crushed.
The result is a batch of evenly minced garlic. There is a small, thin piece remaining at the end which you can add directly to the dish as it’s not significant in size.
Do note that this has not been purchased from IKEA India. This is a garlic press that has been a part of our review lab for a long time. This is an old tool bought years ago from a different country.
- The garlic press is sturdy.
- Comfortable grip. Non-slippery handles.
- Cavity to place the garlic clove is large enough to hold 2-3 at a time.
- Evenly minced garlic.
- Effort is low.
- Easy to clean and empty the cavity.
- Not time consuming.
This is our overall winner. It is best suited for anyone who wants to quickly mince garlic 2-3 pods at a time.
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2. Best For Bulk Chopping Garlic (Manual) – Manual Vegetable Chopper
We chopped 4 cloves of garlic in the Ganesh Vegetable Chopper. The motion is smooth and effortless, as all you need to do is pull the thread. The results are small, mostly evenly chopped pieces of garlic (see picture). It is meant for small-medium quantities of garlic.
This is a manual chopper that is priced at Rs 620/-, but make sure you check out the price/deals before purchasing. Online shopping portals have attractive deals on choppers and handy tools. You can also check out our detailed review on manual choppers.
- Medium-low effort required.
- Small tool. Does not take a lot of space in the kitchen cabinet.
- Evenly chopped pieces of garlic.
- Easy to clean and maintain.
- Light weight.
- No stinky hands! Garlic can be taken out with a small spatula.
If you are someone who is cooking Italian/Chinese and need semi-fine chopped garlic for sauces, this could be a fairly economical and low-effort method to do so.
3. Best For Quick Bulk Chopping (Electric) – Electric Chopper
It’s a given that electric choppers have an advantage of speed, but what about the results? Just like all our contenders, we chopped 4 cloves of garlic in the Borosil Electric Chopper too. The cuts of garlic are primarily medium-small chunks which when pulsed further would only make the chop finer and not mince it completely. This isn’t very even, and there’s a mixed bag of tiny, medium, and big sized pieces of garlic.
This is definitely the quickest method to chop garlic in bulk!
- Speed is the biggest pro of this method. This is the quickest method.
- The large container helps maintain the ‘no-stinky-hands’ advantage. You can extract the garlic with a small spatula.
- Can chop large quantities of garlic in one go.
- Easy to wash and maintain.
- Low effort.
- The cuts of garlic aren’t too even.
This is best suited for those who are looking for chopped garlic in bulk quantities and need it quickly.
4. Cooking For One (Mince) – Small Handheld Grater
We used the grater attachment on the Ganesh Multipurpose Vegetable Chopper and here are our views about using it for garlic. We used this because it was already a part of our review lab, you can use any grater available in your kitchen. It’s quite easy and effortless to use when you want a pod or two for your dish, like a dip or a marinade. The part of garlic that cannot be grated further becomes so small that you can directly add it to the dish as well. This is a good method to mince garlic for small batches of cooking or tadkas when you’re in a hurry.
- The grating process is easy.
- Doesn’t require a lot of effort.
- Caution needed while grating as the size of the garlic clove is small and can lead to finger cuts if not careful.
Small batches of cooking that require a pod or two of minced garlic? A small grater is the best way to go
5. For Coarsely Smashed Garlic – Mortar and pestle
Be it a modern or traditional one, a mortar pestle is ALWAYS there in an Indian kitchen. It is a fast, fuss-free and most easily available method to crush garlic.
We added 4 cloves of garlic to this and smashed the pieces for 30 seconds. The effort is definitely much higher than the choppers (manual and electric). The texture/fineness of mince can be adjusted as per your need. The more effort you put in, the finer the result. Curries require a finer mince, but chutneys can be made with coarsely smashed ones. This is easy to clean and maintain.
A small tip for washing – Make sure you wash them immediately so that the garlic doesn’t dry up and stick to the surface.
- Easy availability.
- This is a sturdy tool.
- Good for rustic dishes like chokhas and bhartas when finely minced garlic isn’t a necessity.
- Needs to be washed immediately.
- You cannot smash too much garlic in one go as the cloves start to jump out.
Don’t want special tools and gadgets in the house that are dedicated just for garlic? A trusty mortar and pestle is for you.
6. Time Consuming – Swing Motion Garlic Presser
Place cloves on a chopping board/working surface and place this press on top. The swing motion is what will mince the garlic. The sieve on top is where the minced garlic gets collected and you can transfer that into the pan, but it is not easy to take out the collected garlic. The motion of this garlic press is quite smooth and doesn’t require too much effort. But what doesn’t work is the blade sharpness and time required.
The end result is tiny pieces of garlic. It takes an ample amount of time to crush a single garlic pod. Leftovers include thin garlic pieces which can be just thrown into the cooking pan along with the chopped garlic.
- The motion is smooth and doesn’t require a lot of effort.
- Small tool – doesn’t require a lot of drawer space.
- Time taking.
- The blade’s sharpness was a drawback.
Need smaller batches of minced garlic? This is a small tool that works fairly well.
7. Multifunction Garlic Crusher
This is how a traditional garlic press works. You add peeled cloves of garlic in the cavity and the small press on top helps mince or crush it. The motion of the top panel going into the cavity should be smooth and the grip comfortable.
We do not highly recommend this particular garlic press for its design and motion. Although the results are a small batch of minute chopped garlic, there are a lot of undone bits and pieces as well. Moreover, you can only place 1 pod in the cavity at a time.
Another reason this does not get a thumbs up from us was because the motion of the tool is not smooth. The top panel gets stuck again and again and doesn’t directly go into the cavity on its own. You have to adjust it every time which ultimately leads to a lot of energy and time wastage.
- The motion of the tool is not smooth.
- The size of the cavity is small and only holds 1 medium-large pod at a time.
- Top panel needs adjustment every time.
- Results are not satisfactory.
- The garlic leaves a lot of moisture which would splash a lot when added to oil.
We do not recommend this.
8. Solimo Ginger/Garlic Crusher
When we reviewed this earlier, our rating was a bit higher. But, in a comparative situation, we felt that this isn’t as efficient a method to chop or mince garlic. The chunks of garlic get stuck in the blades, the process is slow and the chopping is uneven. Amongst all the methods and tools we tested, this felt the most cumbersome as we had to continuously remove chunks of garlic from the blades and one pod also remained undone. Moreover the clean up is a bit tedious and could cause a finger cut, if not done carefully.
- Small and compact.
- The process is slow and tedious.
- The motion is not as smooth. You have to keep removing the chunks of garlic from the blades.
- Chopping is uneven.
- If not washed carefully, the blades on both sides can cause a finger cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some interesting FAQs on methods to chop and mince garlic.
The answer depends mainly on the type of cut you want. If you want chopped garlic quickly, we advise using an electric chopper, but if a fine mince is what you want, we suggest going for the traditional garlic press.
There are multiple ways to do so. The simplest one is to use a mortar and pestle or a sil batta.
As per our review, the IKEA garlic crusher is the best tool if you want to mince garlic.
Garlic is tedious to peel. While there aren’t any peeling tools specific to garlic that we have tested, there are multiple tools available in the market. If they are functional or are just gimmicky is something that can only be told after trying.
Not exactly. Crushed garlic is a bit coarser than minced garlic, which is almost paste-like. Crushed garlic releases mild flavor over a long period of time, while minced garlic has a more intense, immediate flavor. To crush garlic, mash the cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife. To mince garlic, you can chop it yourself or use a garlic press.
To Conclude
We tested 8 different methods and tools to mince, chop and crush garlic. Some designs are well suited to mince, while some excel to chop.
After testing all the above designs and tools, we chose the one by IKEA as the best overall pick for mincing garlic effortlessly. For bulk chopping, the electric and manual choppers work equally well (barring the initial cost of the electric chopper).
Some perform poorly and are not efficient additions to your kitchen workspace.
Which tool do you use to mince and chop garlic?
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Team That Worked On The Review
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